Mother Nature and the Generals
by HeyAssButtImBatman
Summary: After Jack is captured by a rogue elemental spirit, Mother Nature and her seasonal Generals appear at Santoff Clausen to ask the Guardians' help finding him. But there's more going on than meets the eye, and Mother Nature's going to have to rely on everyone she trusts in order to save the world.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Snow fell softly to the ground, sticking immediately to the grass and concrete that made up most of the neighborhood. The moon shone high in the sky, casting a silver glow over everything its beams touched. Far below it, a single figure was making his way lightly from rooftop to rooftop, careful to cover his footprints as he hopped from one house to another.

His stark white hair complimented his bright blue eyes and pale complexion, his thin lips twisted up into a content smile as he surveyed the flakes drifting lazily downwards . The wind stirred a little, swirling around the boy's head and whispering into his ear. The boy nodded in response and raised the long wooden shepherd's crook clutched in his hand.

The snow obeyed his command instantly, swirling down with more force and clumping thickly on everything it touched. The boy smiled again and hopped lightly off the roof, the wind catching him in her embrace like a mother would her child. The boy gives one last look around the neighborhood, nods to himself in a satisfied sort of way and flies off.

His mouth opens in a huge yawn and he runs a hand through his hair, letting his eyes slip shut halfway. He trusts the wind to guide him home, for his work for the night was done. The boy closed his eyes completely, relishing in the feel of the icy wind whipping through his hair and across his face, and because of this, he doesn't notice the figure following him until it slams down on his back, dragging his staff from his lax fingers.

The boy gasps and his eyes open wide, and then he was falling towards the ground and the wind is raging loudly around him, unable to catch him without his staff in his hand and the figure grabs his arm with one hand, slowing his descent enough that he only gets a few bruises when he is dropped unceremoniously on the ground.

He leaped to his feet instantly, blocking out the sound of the wind howling furiously around him and focusing solely on the hands twirling his staff carelessly around in their grip. The boy's eyes flicked upwards and found nothing familiar in the flaming red hair, green eyes and light brown skin, nothing but malice and anger and smugness.

The unknown spirit- for what else could he be, to fly and be able to see the boy?- strode forward until he was close enough for the boy to reach out and grab his staff, but he was wary. The spirit was much taller than the skinny winter sprite, and much stronger looking, too. He leaned forward, grinning widely when the smaller boy unconsciously took a step back.

"Hello, Jack," he said, his deep voice soft but still loud, even over the roar of the wind. Jack frowned and squared his shoulders.

"How do you know my name?" he asked bravely. The spirit chuckled.

"Every elemental knows of Emily Jane's golden child," he said, pointing the shepherd's crook in his hand at Jack. The sprite's face darkened.

"Don't call her that," he said. "And give me back my staff."

"And why would I do that when I want you powerless?" Jack's eyes widened when he finally realized the danger he was in, but still he refused to show the extent of his fear.

"I'm a General," he hissed. "Mother Nature won't take kindly to you assaulting one of her top commanders."

"Mother Nature," the spirit said in a disgusted tone, "is no threat to me." And before Jack could react, he had snapped the staff in two, then four pieces and dropped them carelessly in the snow. Jack screamed in agony, dropping onto the ground and clutching his thin arms around his middle. Tears were swimming in his eyes when he weakly raised his head to stare at the spirit. "Hmm. Not quite as painful as I had hoped. Oh, well. There are other ways to get what I want."

He waved his hand in a circle around the four pieces of Jack's staff and fire erupted on the ground where his hand pointed, creating a ring that completely encompassed the wooden pieces. Jack gasped at the sudden heat and fell forward, just barely managing to catch himself before he face planted in the snow. Black spots danced at the edge of his vision and nausea churned in his stomach, and the heat was unbearable and finally- thankfully- he was enveloped in unfeeling nothingness.

...oO()Oo…

The spirit watched with an evil smile on his face as Jack Frost slumped to the ground, unconscious. Once he was sure the sprite was out, he grabbed the pieces of the boy's staff from the ring of fire, well aware of the effects it would have on Jack if they were left to the flames, and he wanted the General alive.

With a casual sweep of his arm, he had lifted the limp body from the ground and taken to the skies, a quickly disappearing trail of fire marking his progress as he flew. He was only a tiny speck in the distance when the wind was calm enough to think rationally. Still howling with panic and anger, she flew off towards the Savannah Desert, where her queen currently waited.

She blew as fast as she could, praying that she could get help for Jack soon, and fearing the consequences if she couldn't.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One**

Tooth's long fingers tapped idly on the armrest of her chair though she stopped when Bunny sent her a glare. She sighed and slumped down in her seat. Baby Tooth patted her shoulder, chirping sympathetically. Tooth offered her a small smile, but it didn't last.

"This is ridiculous," Bunny said, stopping in his pacing to stare at the other three Guardians. "He was supposed ta be here two hours ago."

Struck with a certain thought, Tooth fluttered into the air nervously, Baby Tooth's worried expression matching her own. "Do you think something happened to him?"

North waved a big hand dismissively. "Do not worry, Tooth. I'm sure he is fine."

"Yeah, Frostbite can take care a himself," Bunny said, flopping back into his chair. "I'm more worried about how long this meeting'll be when Jack finally gets here."

"I'm afraid that Jack won't be joining you for your meeting, Guardians," a new voice said, and all four of the Guardians spun around to face it, wielding their weapons. As soon as they saw who it was, they all dropped onto one knee and tossed their weapons aside.

In front of them stood a tall, regal looking woman with long black hair and eyes, the former of which waved as if in the current of the sea. She was wearing a dress that seemed to be made of starshine, and a few fluffy wisps of cloud floated around her.

"Mother Nature," North whispered in a hushed voice. The woman smiled softly.

"Rise, Guardians," she said, and they did. "This isn't a social call, much as I wish it were so. I need your help."

"What's wrong?" Tooth asked. "Did something happen to Jack?"

Mother Nature's smile turned grim. "That is correct, Toothiana. Jack is in danger."

Three voices shouted at once, and sand pictures formed in the air rapidly, bombarding Mother Nature with questions. The Earth spirit held up a hand and it was instantly quiet again.

"I will explain," she said, "soon. But can we not move to somewhere a little more… comfortable?"

"Of course!" North exclaimed. "I apologise for making you stand there, Earth Queen." She smiled at him and followed when he led her and the other three Guardians to a smaller room filled with plush chairs. They all chose seats, Tooth perched on the edge of hers in anticipation. Mother Nature, sitting straight-backed and elegant in her chair, closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her thoughts.

"Long ago," she began, "in the days before humans, there was a great Ice Age that covered most of the planet. Back then, there were no winter spirits so I personally handled anything having to do with ice and snow and cold. One of the elementals, a fire spirit by the name of Elliot Burns, was unhappy that I allowed the planet to freeze so completely.

"Many, many living things died from the cold, you see, or because they couldn't find enough food. I explained to him the necessity of the Ice Age, but he just became more and more angry as it went on. Eventually, he tried to use his control over fire and the group of elementals he had gathered to thaw out the planet.

"I was forced to stop him, with the aid of the two Generals I had at the time, and trapped him in a comet." The Guardians shot her confused looks and she correctly guessed the cause of the confusion. "My Generals are the four seasonal spirits, the spirits of winter, spring, autumn and summer. A little over three hundred years ago, I found Jack by a small pond near a town called Burgess. The moon had told me that he would find me a winter General, since I hadn't had one ever.

"Jack was confused at first, because he had no idea who he was or what was happening to him, but once I explained who I was and our purposes in the order of things, he readily accepted my offer. I use the wind to talk to him and give him instructions on where and how to use his powers to create winter, which is why he is usually so late to your meetings, because he is doing the job that I gave him.

"But last night, the wind came to me and informed me that Elliot had kidnapped Jack, though I do not know why. Jack is in danger as long as he is with Elliot. Heat is Jack's greatest weakness, and I fear for what might happen if we don't find him in time."

A shocked silence followed her words as the Guardians tried to process what she had just told them.

"So what you're sayin'," Bunny said, "is that Jack is a General? And the only winter spirit?"

"Yes, Aster," Mother Nature said. "But we have bigger concerns. I have my other three Generals out searching the globe for any sign of Jack or Elliot, but I would ask you to aid us in the search, since he is one of you now."

"Da, of course ve vill help!" North boomed. Sandy nodded eagerly and made a check mark of sand above his head. Mother Nature smiled.

"I am glad to hear that," she said. "We have no time to waste. The longer Jack is with Elliot, the more I fear for him."

Tooth gave a resolute nod and turned to Baby Tooth.

"I need you to go back to the palace and take care of things for me, okay?" she said. Baby Tooth squeaked in affirmation and gave her mother's cheek a light kiss before zooming out of the open window. Tooth turned back and found the other Guardians already equipped with their weapons and ready to go.

"To the sleigh!" North called loudly, grinning widely at Bunny's wide eyes.

"Actually," Mother Nature said, "there is a faster way. But we will need reindeer."

North's eyebrows shot up in surprise but he obeyed and led them all to the stables where the reindeer were kept. When they saw Mother Nature, the creatures snorted and tossed their heads, trying to get closer. The spirit smiled and stroked the nose of the one closest to her.

"I need your help," she told the occupants of the stable. "One of the Guardians has been kidnapped, and we need a faster way to travel than the sleigh." Several of the reindeer stomped their hooves and Mother Nature smiled and turned back to the Guardians. "Choose a reindeer and get on."

She unlocked the door to the stall the closest reindeer was in and gracefully mounted him. Her hands fisted gently in his mane and he whinnied softly. The Guardians carefully followed her example and soon all five of them were on top of a reindeer. Tooth gently nudged her reindeer's side and he started forward until he had gathered enough speed to jump high in the air and fly.

She laughed gleefully and looked behind her. North and Sandy seemed to be having the time of their lives and even Bunny wasn't as nauseous looking as he was when in the sleigh.

"Mother Nature!" North called over the wind. "Where are we going?"

"We are meeting with the three Generals," she said. "They are currently at Jack's pond."

"Then let's go!" Tooth spurred her reindeer on and was thrown back a little when he sped up. She leaned forward in her saddle and silently willed him to hurry.

Hold on, Jack, she thought. We're coming for you.

...oO()Oo…

Going through the portal created by North's snow globe wasn't as bumpy a ride as it usually was while in the sleigh, though Bunny still looked immensely relieved when they finally landed at the edge of the pond that Jack called home. The Guardians looked around but saw no one there.

"Where are ya Generals?" Bunny asked, throwing one boomerang up and catching it absentmindedly.

"They are here," Mother Nature promised. Then she turned her face up to the trees and raised her voice. "Generals! Fall in!"

At first nothing happened, but then one of the trees began to twist and bend until it's top was pressed firmly into the snow. From the branches emerged three spirits who walked over to Mother Nature and stood in front of her.

They were all taller than Tooth, and it looked like they'd be taller than Jack, too, but none of them were as tall as Mother Nature, Bunny or North. The tallest girl had long, curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The only boy had dark brown hair, olive toned skin and brown eyes. The last girl had short light brown hair and green eyes.

"Guardians," Mother Nature said, "I'd like you to meet the Generals of Nature. This is Lila Bloom, the spirit of spring." The blonde girl gave them a tense smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Ash Fall, the spirit of autumn," the brown haired boy gave them a single nod, scanning his eyes critically over the Guardians, "and Sunny Rae, the spirit of summer." The girl with brown hair nodded as the boy had done, then turned to Mother Nature.

"We've searched everywhere Elliot has ever gone," Sunny said. "We covered almost the entire globe, but haven't found anything yet."

"We must keep looking," Mother Nature said. She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Actually, I might be able to find him faster if I…" Her voice trailed off and she walked over to the nearest tree, placing her hand on its trunk and closing her eyes. A faint green glow surrounded her hand for a moment before spiraling downwards and into the ground.

"What's she doing?" Tooth asked quietly, not wanting to disturb Mother Nature.

"She's talking to the trees," Lila said. She and the other Generals stood surrounding Mother Nature in a protective circle. "Asking them if they've seen Jack or Elliot."

"And have they?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow.

"How should I know?" Lila snapped. "I can hear the trees, but not the ones as far away as Mother's talking to."

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?" Ash demanded hotly.

"I don't know, how about because you talk to the trees, too?"

"Just because I can talk to trees doesn't mean that I can always understand what they're saying. I was asking you because you can speak the language better than me, you-"

"Enough," Sunny said sharply and both of the bickering Generals fell quiet, shooting one last glare at each other before turning away. "I know you're worried, I am, too. But arguing over something as stupid as that it not going to help Jack." She shot a glance at Mother Nature before turning back to the Generals. "We should go and continue the search."

"We can't leave Mother here unprotected," Lila protested.

"She won't be," Bunny said, stepping forward. "We'll keep her safe." North, Tooth and Sandy nodded in agreement.

"Da, nothing vill happen to Earth Queen vhile the Guardians are here," North said. Ash nodded, satisfied, but Lila still looked wary.

"If it'll make you feel better, I'll stay here with them," Sunny said.

"Alright," Lila agreed. "If anything happens, contact us."

"You know I will," Sunny replied. Lila waved her hand and another tree bent down and allowed the two spirits to walk onto its branches. Then it straightened up and bent the other way, allowing Ash and Lila to run from one tree to another. This chain continued until the two Generals were out of sight, then a calm quiet returned to the forest.

Sunny scanned the forest with her eyes, then sat down in front of Mother Nature and turned to the Guardians.

"Um, Sunny?" Tooth started hesitantly. "Can I ask a question?"

"Go ahead," Sunny said, and Tooth sat down on the ground across from her.

"So, Jack is the only winter spirit?"

"Yes, he is, and as such he has a very hard job," Sunny said. "He doesn't have as many elementals to help him as Ash, Lila and I do."

"What do you mean by that?" Tooth asked curiously. North and Bunny sat on the ground next to Tooth and Sandy created a comfy looking chair out of Dreamsand.

"Well, the Generals are the four seasonal spirits, but there are many, many elemental spirits. The spirit of rain, the spirit of rivers, the spirit of flowers… they're all nature spirits who specialize in one aspect of nature. Ash, Lila and I all use the help of the elementals to bring about our seasons. When it's time for spring, Lila will employ the help of the flower spirit, rain spirit, spirit of new growth and a few others to ensure that enough plant life grows to keep the planet healthy. The same goes for Ash and I when it comes to autumn and summer.

"But Jack, being the only winter spirit, has to do most of his work by himself. He creates snow, blizzards, hail and sleet, though those last two he usually does with the spirit of rain. It's a hard job, especially since he also has his Guardian duties, strengthening the belief of children."

"Huh," Bunny said. "I never imagined the kid as doin' anything other than flyin' around causin' snow days."

"I know," Sunny said somewhat icily. "He told us, the last time we all gathered, that you believed him to be nothing more than a trouble-making nuisance."

Bunny's ears flattened a little and he had the sense to look ashamed. Tooth giggled at his expression.

'What is it, Sanderson?" Sunny asked, and Tooth looked at Sandy to see him firing symbol after symbol into the air. "Ah, I see. Yes, we are all very close."

"Really?" Bunny sneered. "'Cause he neva mentioned knowing Motha Nature or anything about Generals."

"Well, I wouldn't expect him to," Sunny said back. "Only the elementals know about the Generals. The only reason Mother came to you for help with finding Jack was because she knew that we would need help, otherwise you never would've known about us."

A flash in the distance made them all look up, and they saw a green light streaking across the ground towards them. It flew up the trunk of the tree Mother Nature was touching and back into her hand. Her eyes opened and and she smiled grimly.

"Got him."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Two**

"Elliot was last seen passing through Death Valley," Mother Nature said, striding back over to her reindeer. She mounted and looked down at the Guardians and her General. "We must hurry, Jack can't survive in such hot conditions for long."

The Guardians scrambled up onto their own reindeer and Sunny pulled herself up behind Mother Nature.

"Wind," she called, and the wind swirled as if in answer. "Tell Ash and Lila that Jack is in Death Valley." The wind swirled again, stronger this time, and then settled down after a while. "Let's go, Mother."

Mother Nature dug her foot into the reindeer's side and it took off at a sprint, eventually soaring into the air with the other four hot on its tail. Nothing was said as North threw a snowglobe into the air, nor as they passed through the swirling vortex into the valley. But when they emerged from the portal and were met with nothing but desert and heat, a few curse words were muttered, courtesy of one spirit of Easter and Guardian of Hope.

"Let's land," Mother Nature called over her shoulder. They guided the reindeer down to the base of a small mountain range near the edge of the valley, where they dismounted and stood tensely.

"Do you think they're still here, Mother?" Sunny asked, looking up at Mother Nature with a worried expression on her face.

"I know not," Mother Nature replied. "But if they are, Wind will find them. Until then, I will ask the Earth if it has seen anything."

She crouched and placed her hand flat against the soil. Once more, the strange green glow shot out of her hand and into the sand, only this time there were many more of them and they stayed connected to her.

The threads of power snaked along the ground until none of the Guardians could see where they were going anymore. It was only a few minutes until one of the threads glowed white and Mother Nature stood up, but for the Guardians it felt like forever.

They were all sweating bullets in the dry desert heat, and if they were being affected this much, how long could Jack last? Sunny and Emily Jane didn't seem affected as they followed the thread of power, Guardians trailing behind. Then again, Sunny was the spirit of summer and Mother Nature was, well… Mother Nature.

The six of them trekked across the hot sand for half an hour before Mother Nature stopped. The Guardians, all of them damp with sweat and flushed with exertion, looked around.

"Why did we stop?" Tooth asked, panting slightly.

"Because this is where Jack is," Mother Nature answered. The glowing white thread they were following had stopped, pointing to the mouth of a cave. "Sunny, proceed with caution. We will wait for Ash and Lila. If you find Jack, try to get him out. If you can't, report back to me and we'll think of something."

Sunny nodded and slid up to the cave, hiding in the shadows cast by the setting sun. She peered into the darkness for a moment before silently slipping inside. The Guardians and Mother Nature found a relatively cool patch of rock underneath a small outcropping and huddled in the shade, all of them practically oozing worry.

"I hope Jack's alright," Tooth said, wings fluttering on her back though she stayed firmly on the ground.

"I'm sure he is fine," North boomed, although quieter than normal. "Jack is very strong boy."

Nothing more was said after that. With every passing minute they became more and more worried. Finally, after exactly six and a half minutes of waiting, Bunny stopped his restless pacing, lifting one long ear and tilting his head.

"Vhat is it, Bunny?" North asked, getting to his feet and pulling out his swords. Bunny sniffed the air and his eyes widened a little.

"Sunny," he said. "And… I smell Jack."

Sandy's face lit up with glee and Tooth shot into the air, but Mother Nature's face remained impassive. She waited calmly until Sunny came into view, but there was no one else with her. The Guardian's stopped their celebrating, watching with growing apprehension as Sunny came closer. She made immediately for Mother Nature.

"He-he was there!" she cried, a few tears streaming down her face. Mother Nature kneeled on the ground and hugged Sunny to her tightly, letting the spirit sob into her shoulder. "I could sense his magic and it was so fresh! They must have left just a few hours ago!"

"Sunny, calm down," Mother Nature ordered gently. "Listen to me, we'll find him. He'll be fine, alright?" Sunny shook her head vehemently.

"No, look!"

She reached into her pocket and pulled something out. Well, four somethings. They all stiffened when they saw the pieces of Jack's staff, all four of them charred a little on the sides.

"He's defenseless!" Sunny exclaimed. Her voice dropped to a whisper as more tears filled her eyes. "And he must be in so much pain."

Mother Nature's eyes flashed briefly with fury and all of the Guardians stepped back instinctively. Before anything else could happen, however, Bunny's ear shot up once more. He turned his head just in time to see Ash and Lila slide to a stop, panting a little from what looked like a long run.

"Where is he?" Lila demanded. Sunny looked up at her and shook her head, holding up one of the pieces of Jack's staff. The spring spirit gasped and one of her hands shot up to cover her mouth.

"I'm going to kill him," Ash declared, glaring at the staff. "I'm going to kill Elliot!"

"Peace, Ash," Mother Nature said. She stood up off the ground, pulling Sunny up with her. "We were too late to save Jack this time," she said, addressing the whole group, "but we will not give Elliot another chance to escape."

"How, Mother?" Sunny asked, wiping the tears off of her cheeks.

"If we can find some of Elliot's followers, we might be able to discern his location and get there before he disappears again."

Ash's brown eyes narrowed. "John Haze."

"Who's John Haze?" Bunny asked. The group, led by Mother Nature, started walking back to where the reindeer waited.

"He's the spirit of fog, mist and smoke," Lila answered. "He and Elliot are best friends."

"You know what they say," Ash said darkly. "Where there's smoke, there's fire."

...oO()Oo…

It took them an entire day to locate John.

Once they finally made it back to Santoff Clausen, the unofficial base of operations for the whole rescue mission, they all went to work tracking him down.

Sandy had to go out and provide good dreams to the children and destroy nightmares, but used his network of Dreamsand to search the globe at the same time.

Tooth and her mini fairies, while they were gathering teeth, asked every spirit they came across if anyone had seen or heard anything about John.

North and Bunny took time out of preparing for their holidays to search the world, North in his sleigh and Bunny in his tunnels. Of course, Ash, Lila and Sunny had gone out and were using all of their resources to track down anything related to Elliot, John or Jack.

Mother Nature stayed behind to keep an eye on everything.

It was Lila who found him first. The spring spirit was in Maine when Wind told the Earth spirit at the North Pole that Lila had successfully captured John. Mother Nature contacted Ash and Sunny, through Wind, who then went and found all of the Guardians and took them to Maine.

While Lila brought John back to Santoff Clausen, Ash and the Guardians split up and searched around Maine in case Jack or Elliot was there. Mother Nature was waiting in the globe room when Lila and John arrived. The spring spirit was towing an unconscious John behind her.

"What happened?" Mother Nature asked as Lila dumped John unceremoniously on the floor and came up to her. Lila crossed her arms and smirked, though her blue eyes were flashing with anger.

"When I found him, I asked him if he knew where Elliot was," Lila said. "That little prick had the nerve to laugh and say some pretty rude things. I'm surprised at him, honestly. He helps me a lot with my season in some countries and you'd think he'd be more respectful to one of the Generals.."

Mother Nature sighed, both for the temper of her spring General and the stupidity of her elemental.

"Well, we'll just have to wait until he wakes up, then."

They decided to lock him up in a supply closet for now, simply because both of them were extremely pissed at him and they didn't want to give him a room that had anything comfortable in it. One of the yetis offered to keep watch outside of the door, so Mother Nature and Lila decided to check on how Ash, Sunny and the Guardians were doing.

They had no idea where the best place would be to talk to Wind, so they asked a passing yeti if any of the rooms had a balcony. The yeti happily gave them directions to Jack's room, where he said a rather large balcony was.

It didn't take them long to find the room the yeti spoke of. It was in the hallway that housed the rooms for all of the Guardians. Each door had a picture of its owner in the middle and Jack's was all the way at the end.

When they opened the door, they weren't surprised when they were immediately blasted with a wave of cold air. Pushing the door all the way open, they stepped inside and let the wind close the door behind them.

The room was comfortable and homey, with pale blue walls decorated with white frost patterns. The only furniture was a bed with blue and white bedding, an armchair, a chest of drawers, a dresser and a desk on which resided a blue reading lamp.

The balcony was directly opposite the door that led to the hallway. They stepped outside and Lila, who was shivering terribly inside the room, started turning an unhealthy shade of blue. Mother Nature waved her hand and the air around Lila warmed up to a temperature more suitable for a spring spirit.

"Thanks, Mother," Lila said. Mother nature smiled at her and then turned her attention to the frozen landscape in front of them.

"Wind," she called. The wind swirled around her dress in answer. "Tell Ash and Sunny that we've apprehended John Haze, and ask them if they've had any luck with the search so far." The wind swirled again before speeding off to deliver her message.

Not ten minutes later she was back.

 _Neither of the Generals could find any sign of Jack or Elliot,_ the wind sighed, her voice growing sad when she mentioned her friend. _They are returning now._

"Thank you, Wind," Mother Nature said. She turned to the girl standing at her side. "Come, Lila. Let's go see if John has woken up yet."

The two spirits walked back inside, leaving the balcony door open. They made their way back down to the floor where they had left John and walked up to the closet. The yeti who had volunteered to watch the prisoner was sitting in front of the door, snickering as he listened to John pound on the door and yell threats.

"Thank you for watching him," Mother Nature said to the yeti. "We'll take it from here."

The yeti nodded and stood up and the door burst open, a very angry looking John stepping through. Eerie fog swirled around his feet and his gray eyes were narrowed in anger, though he froze when he caught sight of Mother Nature.

"Hello, John," she said silkily. John swallowed loudly and chuckled nervously, eyes darting around as if looking for an escape route.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" he asked, voice cracking a little near the end.

"Oh, nothing much," Mother Nature answered, waving her hand dismissively. "Just looking for my missing General that your best friend kidnapped. Happen to know anything about that, John?"

"W-what makes you think I'd know anything about Jack being kidnapped?" he asked. More and more fog was swirling around his ankles now and it was looking more and more like smoke.

"I didn't say it was Jack." Mother Nature pinned him down with her black-eyed stare, and John's gray eyes widened. "What have you done?"

John's eyes hardened and he leaned forward. "I've done what I had to for the planet. Spirits like Jack-"

"There are no spirits like Jack," Lila interrupted angrily.

"Exactly!" John cried. "He's a winter spirit, the _only_ winter spirit. Doesn't that seem just a little bit suspicious? Winter is abnormal and he only causes harm to the planet, killing plants and animals and freezing everything. Elliot's going to kill him, and then there won't be any more winter and the planet will be saved."

He looked up at Mother Nature defiantly.

"Winter is a crucial part of life," Mother nature said furiously, the clouds swirling around her growing darker. "You, Elliot and whoever else he has sweet talked into following him are going to disrupt the balance of nature! You are going to destroy the planet!"

"And I swear, if you have hurt him," Lila started threateningly, but Mother Nature cut her off.

"There will be no place on Earth that you or Elliot will be able to hide. I will hunt you down and I will kill you, and it will not be pretty."

John's eyes held a flash of fear as he looked up at his queen. Mother Nature leaned down until her mouth was right next to John's ear.

"I will ask you one more time," she whispered, voice wavering with the force of her fury. "What do you know about where Elliot has Jack?"

John glanced up at Lila and saw only cold anger. He shivered and stepped back, into the safety of the supply closet. After a few tense seconds he closed his eyes and sighed.

"Elliot has Jack in Greenland," he said. Mother Nature frowned and a glance at Lila showed the spring spirit to be wearing the same expression.

"Why Greenland?" Lila asked. The country was an extremely cold place, covered almost entirely with glaciers. She had been expecting Elliot to take Jack somewhere hot.

"I don't know," John said, then backed up even more when Lila started forward threateningly. "I don't, honestly! All Elliot told me was that he wanted to make sure that nothing like the Ice Age ever happened to the planet again."

"The Ice Age wasn't Jack's doing," Mother Nature said, eyes widening slightly. "He wasn't even alive at the time."

"Tell that to Elliot," John said, and Lila glared at him.

"You're coming with us to Greenland," she said. "And know that if you're lying, no matter where you hide, I will find you and I will _skin_ you."

"Lila, bring John and follow me," Mother Nature said. "The Guardians and other Generals should be back soon."

The spirit of spring grabbed John by the arm, dragging him after Mother Nature. Because he was behind them both, neither of them noticed the tiny smirk on his face.

 **Can anyone tell me what show Lila's threat was from? I bet most of you know it but for those of you that don't, I'll give you a clue. The character who said it was a villain who controlled a Chinese gang and was in contact with a dominatrix.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Three**

They only had to wait half an hour for Ash, Sunny and the Guardians to get back to the North Pole, which Lila thought was a record of some type. Still, she couldn't help but pace restlessly in the Globe Room while they waited. Mother Nature, saint that she was, simply sat in her chair, watching the General walk around the room.

Every once in a while, Lila's gaze would flick to where John sat against the wall, looking at the ground. His grey eyes would meet her's every time she stopped her walking, and each time she saw some emotion swirling in his eyes that she couldn't place.

It unnerved her, to say the least. She was startled out of her thoughts when a yeti knocked and entered, saying that the others had returned. Mother Nature was on her feet instantly and striding out of the door, Lila hot on her heels with John in tow.

They briskly walked out to the main common room, where Ash, Sunny, Sandy, North, Bunny and Tooth waited. Ash and Sunny's eyes darkened when John entered, and the spirit wisely kept his gaze lowered.

"You have located Jack?" North demanded. Mother Nature nodded.

"John told us that Elliot is keeping Jack in Greenland, so that's where we're heading," she said.

"All of us?" Ash asked.

"Yes," Mother Nature replied. "Elliot is very popular among other summer and spring spirits, I have no doubt that he has gathered at least a small following."

"What are we waiting for?" Tooth asked excitedly, flitting to the door. "Let's go rescue Jack!" The others followed with the same amount of enthusiasm. Bunny didn't even hesitate in jumping into the sleigh, though he looked like he regretted that decision as soon as it sped off down the tunnel.

Mother Nature looked down at her feet, where John sat stiffly against the side of the sleigh.

"Where exactly is Jack?" she asked. John looked up at her, eyes full of anger and fear.

"Thirty miles South of the Pole," he said finally. They all stiffened in surprise.

"He's been right here the whole time?" Bunny demanded angrily. John smirked in answer and the Pooka's eyes lit up with anger.

"Bunny!" North called from the front of the sleigh, stopping the Guardian from throwing the boomerangs clutched tight in his fists. "Calm yourself. No good vill come from hurting him."

Bunny reluctantly backed off and sat back down, though he shot a glare at John every few seconds. The ride only took twenty minutes or so, thanks to the speed of the reindeer. Instead of landing this time, the sleigh hovered in the air.

Bunny, North, Ash, Sunny and Lila jumped out, landing in crouches on the ice while Mother Nature, Sandy and Tooth simply flew down.

Mother Nature waved her hand, warming up the air around the group. Ash smiled in thanks and they began walking forward.

"Where?" Lila spat icily at John after thay had left the sleigh far behind them. The spirit scowled but pointed to a distant heap of snow.

"The entrance to Elliot's base is in there," he said, then turned to Mother Nature. "I'm not going in with you. Elliot would kill me, best friend or not."

"You have no choice," Mother Nature said calmly back, walking over to the snow pile. "You helped create this mess, you are going to help fix it."

She waved her hand and the snow melted instantly, pooling into water that quickly froze into ice in the low temperature. Without looking back, Mother Nature stepped into the hole in the ground, letting the wind gently float her down. The drop wasn't long, and she landed silently on the stone floor.

The first thing she noticed was the heat. It was sharp and stinging, like the heat that rose from a fire. She sent the wind up to call the others down and cautiously walked forward down the hall. The farther she went, the hotter it became, until she was absolutely positive that only Elliot could have produced the heat.

She rounded a corner and came to a stop, surveying the area she found herself in. It was a huge cavern made entirely of stone. In the very center sat a huge fire surrounded by boulders. She could see a strange shape moving about in the flames and narrowed her eyes.

It was Elliot. The spirit was standing in the flames, gazing around the room with a satisfied smile on his face. Around the cavern milled dozens of summer and spring spirits, most of their powers having to do with heat.

Mother Nature could see the spirit of droughts, the spirit of sunshine, the spirit of lightning and many more. Her eyes raked across the cavern and she spotted a small opening in the rock on the far side. There were two spirits standing outside of it, the spirits of desert and steam.

Jack had to be in there.

A noise behind her made her turn her head and she saw the Generals, Guardians and John standing behind her.

"Jack is in there, I think," she said, pointing at the opening. "We'll need to distract the elementals if we're going to get him out."

"I'll get Jack," Ash said. "You guys keep them occupied."

Mother Nature nodded and waved her hand again. The fire in the middle of the room went out and Elliot dropped to the floor, landing on his ass with a fairly audible _oof_. He jumped up and looked around angrily, his eyes finally landing on the group by the entryway.

"So," he sneered, "finally caught up, have we?"

"Give me back my General, Elliot," Mother Nature said, stepping forward through the elementals until she was standing right in front of the spirit of fire. "You cannot go against your queen."

"Watch me," Elliot said, smirking. He snapped his fingers and all of the elementals in the room attacked. None of them dared to get too close to Mother Nature, but they all rushed straight for the Guardians and Generals.

Within seconds elementals were being thrown around like dolls. Lila had her hands up and two humongous vines had burst up through the cavern floor. They matched the movements of Lila's hands perfectly, batting elementals aside like flies.

Sunny was dashing around, using her powers to suck the heat out of the air, making the summer and spring elementals' movements sluggish and slow. The Guardians were unstoppable, using their weapons to knock out any elemental that came too close.

Mother Nature focused all of her attention on Elliot. The spirit was almost as old as her and nearly as powerful. But, where he could only control heat and fire, Mother Nature had mastery over all elements. It was a stalemate, Mother Nature throwing a blast of ice at Elliot and the spirit reflecting it with a wave of heat, and vice versa.

In all of the chaos, no one noticed Ash slip to the side of the cavern and dash into the crack in the wall.

The hallway was a lot cooler than the main cavern, though it was still much too hot for him or Jack. He barely noticed the temperature change, though. His main focus was getting to the end of the tunnel and finding Jack. He ran as fast as he could through the dark, until at last he could see something piercing the shadows.

Sliding to a stop in front of a huge cage, he knelt and looked inside. His eyes widened when he took in the appearance of the winter General. He was covered in bruises and small cuts and there was blood matting his white hair on one side of his head. He was unconscious and didn't stir when Ash rattled the door, though that wasn't what worried him the most.

Jack was sweating. Not a lot, not even enough to be considered fully sweating, but it terrified the General. Jack's usually pale skin had a pink flush to it and Ash could feel the tiny waves of heat coming off of him. For a winter spirit, a fever could be deadly.

Cursing under his breath, he looked around the small room for something to help him open the door. His eyes landed on a key hanging by the door. Ash grabbed it and jammed it into the lock, relief filling him when it turned and the door swung open.

As quickly as he could, he lifted up Jack's still form and exited the room. He paused when he came to the door leading back to the main cavern. The sounds of battle were still bouncing off the walls, though it wasn't nearly as loud as it had been before. Ash peeked into the cavern and saw most of the elementals strewn about on the floor. The remaining few were being held back by the General and Guardians, and Mother Nature was still fighting Elliot.

The fire spirit was so engrossed in the battle that he didn't notice Ash sneak around the edge of the cavern with Jack in his arms. When he got to the tunnel leading out, he stopped and turned.

"Fall back!" he called, deep voice reverberating around the large cavern. Everyone stopped and stared at him in shock, but it was exactly what the Generals and Guardians needed. They, along with Mother Nature, broke away from the fight and dashed over to him. Together the nine of them raced back up to the sleigh, hearing pounding footsteps behind them and Elliot's angry bellowing.

They piled into the sleigh and sped off, using a snow globe this time so that Elliot wouldn't be able to track them. When they emerged from the vortex, they found themselves rapidly approaching the stables. North pulled hard on the reins, stopping them enough that the impact from their landing didn't do worse than jolt them all a little.

They immediately jumped out and raced to the medical bay, where the yetis working there got to work right away. The Guardian were shooed out, but Mother Nature and the Generals wouldn't budge from their spot by Jack's bed.

It was a stressful ten minutes for all of them. All the yetis could do was clean and dress the cuts and smear a salve on the bruises. Nothing they had would put a dent in Jack's fever and Mother Nature knew it. So, as soon as the yetis were done, she grabbed her General and strode out of the room.

The Guardians jumped to their feet and followed without a word. No one was surprised when Mother Nature led them to Jack's room. Ash pushed open the door and Mother Nature set Jack down gently on the bed.

He looked completely fine except for the pink flush in his normally white cheeks and the bandaged wrapped around his head. Mother Nature sat down on the chair and folded her hands neatly in her lap, obviously not intending to move until Jack woke up. The Generals and Guardians copied her, lounging around the room and keeping their eyes glued firmly on the winter sprite.

The wind swirled around the room, bringing icy air and snowflakes into the room, but no one complained. The cold would help Jack, though the others, minus North and Mother Nature, wouldn't be able to stand it for long.

No one spoke a word, each lost in their own thoughts. So they sat and waited for their winter sprite to wake up.

… oO()Oo …

High above a small town on the East coast of the United States, a single streak of light flashed across the sky. No one could see it, because no one believed that the spirit of fire existed, but it was there nonetheless. In Elliot's arms was John, both of them smiling deviously.

"How did I do?" John asked, looking up at his best friend.

"You did perfectly," Elliot replied. "They don't suspect a thing."

"They will when you just give up," John pointed out. "After all, they know how much trouble you went through to gather followers and they'll guess that it wasn't just for torturing Frost, which you also didn't do."

"And that's why you're going to distract them. When they notice that you're missing, they'll know something's up, if they don't already. And when they do, they'll hunt you down. You'll be all the way in China, and I'll be-"

"Luring Mother Nature to Arkansas so you can work on the thing."

Elliot huffed in annoyance. "It's not a thing. It's a conduit."

"Whatever," John said flippantly. "It's still a thing. And while you're finishing it, I'll be playing hide-and-seek with the Generals and those Guardians."

"Ya know," Elliot said thoughtfully, "this may work out even better than I had originally planned."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Mother Nature and the Guardians were so busy finding Frost that they neglected their duties. Emily and the Big Gs haven't been giving orders, so the elementals have been doing what they think the Earth needs. The Guardians haven't been preparing for their holidays or whatever it is that they do."

"If we can keep them busy long enough, they'll destroy themselves," John realized. "The Guardians will lose their believers and the Earth will die if Emily doesn't keep order, so she'll die, too."

"Exactly," Elliot said proudly. "And then we'll be free to redecorate the planet as we want."

The two spirits smiled as they thought of what they'd do once the world was theirs and sped off into the night, an invisible trail of fire the only thing marking their path.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Four**

Jack woke up almost an entire day later.

Tooth was the only one in the room at the time, she being the only one who could afford to sit idly. All of the others had gone back to their duties once Bunny pointed out that just sitting there wasn't going to help Jack.

Jack didn't wake up gradually like people do in movies or books. He just opened his eyes, blinked once and sat up, nearly giving Tooth a heart attack in the process. After getting over her initial shock, she shot into the air and slammed into Jack, giving him a huge hug.

"Jack!" she squealed. "You're awake! Oh, my goodness, I have to go get the others. Don't move!"

Jack watched with amusement as Tooth flitted out of the room as fast as she could, calling for, well, everyone. He looked around, glad to see that he was in his own room. The balcony doors were open and there was frigid wind swirling around the room, carrying flurries and snowflakes.

"Hey, Wind," Jack greeted, and the wind swirled faster in excitement. He got out of bed, one hand on the wall in case he fell, and made his way over to the chair by the balcony. He settled into it with a content sigh, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling of icy air kissing his face.

Not five minutes later, his door exploded open with a bang, making Jack jump about a foot in the air. He watched with wide eyes as Tooth, North, Sandy, Bunny, Mother Nature and the Generals all filed into his room.

The Guardians all rushed him and gave him a huge hug, talking about how worried they were and how glad they were that he was awake.

"Thanks, guys," Jack said, smiling and slipping out of North's bone-crushing grip. He turned to Mother Nature and his smile grew wider. Emily Jane smiled too and held her arms open. Jack didn't hesitate before throwing himself into her embrace.

"I was so worried," she murmured. Lila wrapped her arms around him from behind, then smacked the back of his head.

"Don't ever do that again!" she scolded. "You nearly gave Mother a heart attack when she found out."

Jack stuck out his tongue and laughed when Lila did the same. Ash and Sunny both latched onto Jack as soon as he was released by Mother Nature and Lila, and Sunny started sobbing into his neck.

"I was s-so scared!" she wailed. "W-when we found your s-staff, and it was b-broken and-"

"Hey, it's okay, sis," Jack said. "I can fix my staff, it's not the first time it's been broken."

"Wait, hold on a minute," Bunny interrupted. "'Sis'? She's your sister?"

"Yeah," Jack said. "Well, technically adopted. Mother Nature's our mom, and the four of us might as well be related what with how close we are."

"Vell, that vas unexpected," North said. Sandy nodded in agreement. Tooth, still fluttering above the group, squealed again.

"I'll be right back!" she promised, zooming out of the room. A few minutes later she was back, holding the four pieces of Jack's staff. "Here, Jack."

"Thanks, Tooth," he said. Furrowing his brow a little, he grabbed the first two pieces and held them together. Closing his eyes, he scrunched up his face in concentration. A faint blue-white glow came from where the two pieces met, growing brighter and brighter.

There was a small flash of light that had everyone closing their eyes, and when they opened them, the two pieces were one. Jack sighed and grabbed the next piece, doing the same thing. After the last piece was connected and the staff was whole once more, Jack was exhausted.

His eyes were shut halfway and he was leaning heavily on Mother Nature for support.

"We should let him rest," she said, addressing the room. Jack mumbled something that sounded like "Please do" and Mother Nature smiled fondly down at him. "Wind, if you would?"

The wind swirled and lifted Jack, laying him down on his bed. He waved his hand and a thin sheet of ice formed over him like a blanket.

"Thanks for the rescue, guys," he said drowsily. "Now please get out of my room or I'll have no choice but to freeze your legs together and have Phil escort you out. And don't think that I won't, because I've done it before. Ask Ash."

They all turned to Ash and the spirit of autumn nodded gravely. Hiding small smiles, the group left. Mother nature was the last to leave. She leaned over Jack's bed, brushing his hair back from his face and placing a kiss to his forehead.

"I love you, Jack," she said softly.

"I love you, too, Mom," Jack mumbled back, letting his eyes slip shut. Mother Nature waved her hand and cooled the room down even further before leaving. The door made a soft click when she shut it and all she could think of was how glad she was that her child was back home.

… oO()Oo …

By the time Jack woke up again, the sun had risen and he was feeling a lot better. The Guardians and Generals, when he found them, were in North's largest common room. They were all lounging around in armchairs and sofas when he entered.

"Hey, guys," he greeted cheerfully. All eyes snapped to him and smiles split every face in the room.

"How are you feeling?" Mother Nature asked.

"Great," Jack answered. "The fever's gone and I'm totally ready to get back to work."

North frowned. "Vork?" he asked. "Jack, you should still rest. One day is not enough time."

"It is for a seasonal," Ash said from his spot on the floor. "We heal a lot faster than other spirits."

"Besides," Sunny said, "we can't afford another day. Already the elementals have been messing the planet up."

"How do you know?" Bunny asked and Lila pointed to Mother Nature.

"Mother can feel the conflicting weather patterns and stuff," she said. "Without us to guide them, the elementals have no idea what the planet needs, so they've been doing whatever they want."

"I don't know, Jack," Tooth said worriedly. "I'd feel a lot better if you at least stayed here for another day or two."

"I can't, Tooth. I'm the only one besides Mom who can control the North wind and bring winter, and she has enough to do already."

The Guardians reluctantly agreed to let Jack go back to his General duties only after Mother Nature reminded them that Jack was first and foremost a General, and his job was very important to the natural balance.

They watched him go with small frowns on their faces that only deepened when Jack stumbled a little when taking off. He never stumbled, ever. He obviously wasn't completely over the ordeal, but the planet needed him, so the Guardians would just have to suck it up and let him go. Didn't mean they couldn't complain, though.

"I don't think Jack should have gone," Tooth said unhappily after the four Guardians retired back to the common room.

"Da, I agree vith Tooth," North said. "Jack should still be resting. He vasn't at full strength vhen he left."

Sandy waved his hands to get their attention then pointed to the sand shapes flashing above his head.

"Sandy's right," Bunny said when the Sandman was finished. "Elliot coulda done a lot worse to Jack, but all he did was lock him up. If he was really afta revenge like Haze said he was, he woulda done more than just bruise him a little."

"Vhat are you saying, Sandy?" North asked. More symbols flashed above Sandy's head and the other three all frowned when he was finished.

"A distraction?" Tooth asked. "A distraction from what?"

Understanding slowly dawned on Bunny's face, even before Sandy "voiced" his idea.

"I dunno know what he's doing," Bunny said, drawing the attention of the other three, "but I'm pretty sure he wanted to keep Motha Nature and the Gen'rals busy."

Tooth gasped and her eyes widened.

"Where's John?" she whispered. They looked around and realized for the first time that the last time any of then had seen him was when they were rescuing Jack.

"Do you think he was in on it?" Bunny asked. Sandy flashed some more symbols. "You're right, Sandy. John was probably helping Elliot the whole time."

"What do we do?" Tooth asked. "If this whole thing was just a distraction, what is he planning?"

"Ve must alert Mother Nature," North said. "I fear for the safety of the vorld if Elliot is not stopped."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Five**

Mother Nature and the Generals decided to split up. It would be faster, since only Ash and Jack could ride the wind and Mother Nature could run faster than any other spirit. So Ash and Jack took to the skies, Mother Nature ran ahead and Sunny and Lila used their network of plants to travel to the Nature Palace.

It was a huge thing made of a type of stone not found on Earth. It sat in the center of the Earth's core and only Emily Jane and the Generals could access it. You'd think that Jack, Ash and Lila wouldn't be able to stand the extreme temperatures of the magma surrounding the Palace, but the passageway that led to it as well as the Palace itself were always kept at a suitable temperature, just warm enough for Lila, Sunny and Ash and cool enough that Jack was comfortable, as well.

This is where they met up again, hours later. Mother Nature was already there when Ash and Jack flew in, and Lila and Sunny emerged from the tunnel a few hours after them. They all walked up to Mother Nature's globe room.

It was a lot different from the one at Santoff Clausen. There were two globes instead of one, and they didn't show lights that represented children. One of them showed the world as it was at that moment, the temperatures, climates and weather patterns that covered the world. The second showed the exact same thing, except instead of showing how the world was, it showed how the world was supposed to be.

These two globes allowed Mother Nature to do her job, they enabled her to give specific instructions to the Generals, who then relayed them to the elementals. When they got to the globe room, Mother Nature went to stand beside the globes and the Generals perched around the room.

"We have much work to do," Mother Nature said. "Without our guidance, the elementals have wreaked havoc on the poor planet."

The globe that showed how the world was at the present was a mess of reds and oranges and yellows, colors that represented heat. The other globe had less warm colors and more blues and whites, especially in regions that were supposed to be experiencing winter.

"God, Jack," Lila said, "you have a lot of work to do."

Jack snorted from where he was sitting on top of his staff. "No offense to you guys, but the elementals are idiots."

"You're telling us," Ash said. "We're the ones who have to work with them."

"Ash, Jack," Mother Nature chided. "It isn't their fault. They don't have access to the globe and have no idea what the planet needs. That's why they need us. Now, you four have a lot of work. I need you to call a meeting. I want all of the elementals to come."

"What about Elliot and John?" Sunny asked.

"I don't expect them to show up," Mother Nature replied. "I will personally be searching for them while you four fix the elementals' mess."

"Awesome," Lila said, rolling her eyes. "Alright, Mother. What do you need us to do?"

"Call the meeting and divide the elementals into their seasonal armies. Lila, you and the Spring Army will be on damage control. I need you to get rid of all of the extra growth that sprung up and control the flora and fauna until Jack is finished with his work."

"Got it," Lila said.

"Ash, you and the Autumn Army will be working on preparing the winter regions for winter. I need leaves off of trees and animals in hibernation. Jack, you will go with Ash and his army. After they've finished prepping for winter, I'll need you to bring the snow, ice and whatever else that place needs."

Ash and Jack both nodded.

"What about me?" Sunny asked.

"Sunny, I need you to gather the summer troops and split them up. Have those that can help Lila go with her troops and those that could aid Ash go with him and Jack. Those that are only summer spirits should stay out of the way and not do anything unless you tell them otherwise, got it?"

Sunny nodded.

"Who's going to stay here if you're going out to look for Elliot and John?" Jack asked.

"Sunny will," Mother Nature said. "Alright, all of you have your assignments, so get to it. And be careful. Elliot and John are planning something."

"We thought so," Sunny said, exchanging looks with Ash.

"We'll be fine, Mom," Jack said. Mother Nature smiled.

"I know you will be, because you'll have your elder brother to watch out for you, right, Ash?" she raised a single eyebrow at the autumn sprite, a silent command and threat all rolled up into one. Ash nodded and slung an arm around Jack's shoulders.

"He'll be fine," he said. "I won't let anything happen to him."

"Good. Now, go."

The four spirits called out quick goodbyes and hurried out of the tunnel, hitting the button that summoned the elementals on the way out. Mother Nature sighed and crossed her slender fingers. She wasn't superstitious, but sometimes she felt they needed just a little bit of luck.

… oO()Oo …

Jack and Ash sped through the sky, hurrying to the meeting point as fast as the wind could fly them. Way below them and much behind them Lila and Sunny were heading to the meeting place, as well.

The closer they got to the elementals' meeting place, the more spirits they came across. Ash and Jack passed many spirits heading to Mount Everest on foot, and a few riding the wind like they were. The two Generals weren't the first ones there. There were already at least a dozen spirits gathered around the base of the mountain when they got there.

"Jack, why don't you start the meeting and I'll wait out here for the others to come," Ash said. "I think we're just waiting for Sunny and Lila."

They both knew what he was doing. He was giving Jack the option to tell the elementals himself of what had happened to him or not tell them. Jack flashed his brother a grateful smile and walked up to the mountain. He placed his palm on the rough rock and pushed his power out.

A thin sheet of ice spread around his hand, only to be absorbed by the rock a moment later. He stepped back as a doorway etched itself into the mountain, the rock crumbling to dust and leaving the opening to a tunnel where solid stone had been moments before.

Jack led the way into the tunnel, the elementals following behind him silently. After a minute or two of walking, they came upon a huge cavern hollowed out of the mountain. Jack flew over to a large , flat lump of stone in the center of the cavern that was raised high above the ground. He landed and watched as the elementals filed in.

Jack raised his staff and the room grew silent, the spirits watching him expectantly.

"Okay, guys," Jack began, "I know that we haven't exactly been Generals of the Year, and I'm sorry for that. We had a little… situation to deal with, but everything's cool now. The planet's a little bit out of whack, and the other Generals and I are gonna need your help to fix it."

A tall elemental near the front raised her hand and Jack nodded, indicating that she could speak.

"What do you mean by 'situation'?" she asked. Jack sighed internally, but answered anyway.

"I meant we had to deal with a traitor," he said. Gasps echoed loudly around the room and Jack could hear whispering all around him. "The spirits called Elliot Burns and John Haze have committed treason and attacked a General. They are being found and dealt with as we speak, but I urge you to try and catch them if you see them while on assignment, and for the love of God, don't listen to anything they have to say."

More hands were raised, but Jack ignored them. Ash, Lila and Sunny emerged from the tunnel, unnoticed by the elementals. They climbed up next to Jack and glared out over the crowd, which went silent instantly.

"Mother Nature has a huge job for us to do," Lila said, looking out over the crowd. "We'll all need to pitch in, so we need you to get into your armies."

Instantly, the elementals started moving, pushing past each other to stand with their group. After a few minutes of chaos, there were three groups of elementals standing in front of the makeshift stage.

"Okay," Sunny said, stepping forward. "Spring elementals, your job is to get rid of extra growth and keep the animals in check until Jack's done bringing winter." The spring army nodded and Sunny turned to the autumn elementals. "You will be preparing for winter. Mother Nature needs leaves off of trees, animals in hibernation and the plants prepared for the snow."

"What about us?" one of the summer spirits called out.

"You will split into three groups," Sunny said. "Those who are also spring will go with General Lila, those who are autumn will go with General Ash and those who are only summer will come with me. Everyone understand what needs to be done?"

The spirits all nodded and Sunny smiled in satisfaction.

"Then let's move out."

There was a flurry of commotion as all of the spirits flooded out of the tunnel all at once. The Generals followed last, making sure that no stragglers were left behind. Once everyone was out in the open, they split into their three groups. Sunny headed back to the Nature Palace with her summer elementals, Lila sped off with her spring army and Jack and Ash led the autumn spirits to the first place on the globe, the wind whispering in their ears Mother Nature's instructions.

… oO()Oo …

Mother Nature waited until Sunny came back to leave on her search for Elliot and John. She gave the General a quick crash course on how to direct the spirits, then headed out. The clouds around her were dark with muted anger and nervousness.

The first thing she did was use the underground system of roots to search the globe for any sign of either spirit. She didn't find anything, which meant one of two things. Either John and Elliot had died, which was unlikely, or they were somewhere without any roots, which was equally unlikely.

Still, the second option was less crazy than the first; only Mother Nature or a stronger spirit could kill another spirit, and while John was probably one of the weakest elementals out there, there were only a few spirits more powerful than Elliot.

So, Mother Nature adjusted her search. Instead of using the root network to search for signs of the traitorous spirits, she spread her awareness and tried to sense any anomalies that might give her a clue as to the whereabouts of either one.

Her brow furrowed when she got to the United States. Smack in the middle of Arkansas was something she had never come across before in her life: a lack of receptors. The roots that allowed her to feel the planet were gone, leaving a circle exactly a mile wide with no life at all.

It was undoubtedly Elliot. No other spirit would know how to do this, nor would they want to. Mother Nature stood up from her crouch, tiny clouds around her almost completely black, as they always were when she thought about Elliot.

Without further ado, she took off, running across the barren ground at a speed unmatchable by any natural force. She worried about what she would find when she got there, but she had to know what Elliot was planning that required him to completely kill a part of her planet.

"I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into, Elliot," she muttered angrily, "because you sure as hell aren't getting out in one piece."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Six**

Jack, Ash and the autumn army were in Paris, France when the Guardians found them. Jack had just finished setting up a small snowstorm when he was grabbed from behind. Acting on instinct, he grabbed the person's wrist and flipped them over his shoulder.

He barely registered a familiar flash of blue and green as it sped by his face, and then Tooth was staring up at him with an expression of shock on her face.

"Whoops," Jack said sheepishly, pulling her to her feet. "Sorry, Tooth."

"It's fine, Jack," Tooth said, giving her wings a few test flaps. "We have more important things to worry about anyway."

"We?"

"Yeah." Tooth pointed to something behind Jack and the winter spirit turned to see the rest of the Guardians standing a few feet away from Ash and the autumn elementals. "There's something important we need to tell Mother Nature. It's about Elliot and John."

"Mother Nature's actually tracking those two down now," Ash said, coming up to stand beside Jack. "We know they're planning something big and she's gone to find out what."

Tooth blinked in surprise. "Oh," she said. "Well, in that case, I guess we don't have anything to tell her."

Jack chuckled. "Do you guys wanna come with us?" he asked. "We just have to do Greenland and then we'll be done."

"Da!" North boomed excitedly, making the closest elementals to him jump a little in surprise. "I've never seen you vork before, I vould love to come."

Sandy flashed a few sand signals over his head, nodding enthusiastically and Tooth squealed and fluttered into the air.

"I think I'll pass," Bunny said, crossing his arms. "I'm not really a fan a the cold."

"Aww, come on, Bunny," Jack wheedled. "At least come with us to Greenland."

"Sorry, Snowflake," Bunny said, face remaining a mask of indifference. "I have to prepare for Easta. Not all of us," he glared pointedly at North, "have minions to do the work for us."

"Suit yourself," Jack shrugged. He raised his staff a little and rose up into the air besides Tooth. "Shall we go?"

Sandy created a small hot air balloon from Dreamsand and he and North climbed in. Tooth and the Generals took to the air while the army ran below them. The journey to Greenland took a little over an hour. Jack created an ice bridge for the elementals to use to cross the ocean, which Tooth thought was amazing.

"Ready to be amazed?" Jack asked when they finally reached the coast of Greenland, flashing a huge smile at Tooth. The fairy nearly fell out of the air from the sight of Jack's teeth, but managed to keep herself airborne and nodded her head eagerly.

Ash rolled his eyes, but stood back while Jack flew up closer to the clouds, raising his staff high above his head. He slowly waved the shepherd's crock in a small circle and the others watched as the clouds followed the movement, swirling around and growing darker.

Soon, small flurries were falling, sticking to the ground and the glacier already present. Furrowing his brow, Jack pushed more of his power out and watched with satisfaction as the flurries turned into heavy snowfall.

He flew off, leaving the rest of the group to follow. Everywhere he went, he created some type of snowstorm. He worked his way around the coast first, then started to move further inland. Some parts of the country got nothing but light snowfall, while other places got full on blizzards.

It took about eight full hours to finish, and all of them were exhausted when they finally finished. The Guardians had left hours before, needing to get back to their duties, but the elementals had stayed with Jack, not wanting to leave him alone.

When he finally finished the last storm, Jack flew tiredly over to where Ash waited. The winter sprite landed clumsily and stumbled over to his brother, leaning on him heavily to stay upright.

"That took a lot more energy than I thought it would," he mumbled into Ash's shoulder. The General chuckled and wrapped his arm around Jack's thin waist.

"You're lucky I sent the army home an hour ago," he said in a teasing tone. "We wouldn't want them to see the winter General so vulnerable, now, would we?"

"Mmm, definitely not," Jack said, letting his eyes slip shut and his body fall limp. Ash lifted his sleeping brother's body into his arms, letting the wind carry them both back to the Nature Palace.

… oO()Oo …

Sunny was frantic. She was pacing a in a circle around the globes and had been for two hours. Lila sat on a table, watching her little sister wear a hole in the floor. The spring General was just as worried as her sister was, but Lila had more control over herself than Sunny did.

Sunny passed her again and she reached out with one arm, stopping Sunny's erratic movement.

"Calm down," she said firmly, looking into Sunny's wide green eyes with her cool blue ones. "We don't know for sure that she's in danger."

"Lila, it's been almost twenty-four hours since she left," Sunny said, voice tense. "She's never gone that long without checking up on us first. Not willingly."

"I know," Lila said, letting some of her own worry seep into her voice. "And we'll find her. But pacing isn't going to help."

"I just feel like we should be doing something other than waiting." Sunny sat down next to Lila, dropping her head into her hands. "I've never felt so useless in my life."

"I know how you feel, but there isn't anything we can do," Lila said, wrapping an arm around Sunny's shoulders. "If Mother Nature really is in trouble, then the two of us definitely don't stand a chance against whatever it is she went up against."

Sunny sighed unhappily, but sat still. They both kept their gazes trained on the entrance to the tunnel where they knew Ash and Jack would be using to get into the Palace. They sat there for an hour, neither one of them wanting to move from their silent vigil.

Eventually, quiet footsteps alerted the Generals to the arrival of their brothers. Ash walked out of the tunnel with a sleeping Jack in his arms.

"Hey, guys," Ash greeted, not noticing the tension in their shoulders or the worry in their eyes.

"What happened to Jack?" Lila asked, hopping off the counter and walking over to the other Generals.

"He's just tired," Ash replied. "He's never had to create winter on such a large scale before." Ash looked up at her, then at Sunny, and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Mother's missing," Sunny said bluntly from her perch on the counter. "She left almost a full day ago and she hasn't checked in once."

Ash's eyes widened and he tightened his grip on his smaller brother.

"Have you started searching for her?" he asked. Lila shook her head sadly.

"You know as well as I do that we'd be no match for whatever took her. We were waiting for you two to get back."

"We shouldn't get Jack involved," Sunny said firmly, reaching out a hand to brush back a stray lock of white hair from Jack's forehead. "If we can spare him the worry, we should."

"I agree," Lila said. "Ash, can you take him to his room?"

Ash nodded and let the wind sweep him up, carrying him to the hallway that contained their bedrooms. Sunny turned to Lila expectantly.

"How will we find her?" she asked. "We can't ask the elementals for help and our access to the underground root system isn't as full as Mother's is."

"I don't know, Sunny," Lila said, running a hand through her blonde curls. "We'll just have to split up and search the old fashioned way."

"That'll take too long," Ash said from the doorway, surprising both Sunny and Lila.

"There's nothing else we can do," Lila said. Ash sighed angrily but followed his sisters through the tunnel.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Seven**

Jack wasn't sure why people in movies and books always seemed to wake up slowly. A twitch of an eye as you slowly woke, a huge, drawn-out yawn and a bout of eye-rubbing so intense it probably wasn't healthy; the winter sprite had never in his three hundred plus years experienced anything like it. When he woke up, he came to consciousness all at once, no lingering confusion or haziness.

That's why, when he woke up in his bed at the Nature Palace, he knew immediately that Ash had brought him there. He stretched his arms a little and slid out of bed. After brushing his teeth (wouldn't Tooth be so proud?) and attempting to flatten his hair, he grabbed his staff and flew out to the globe room.

There was no one there. Jack froze in the doorway, worry starting to claw at his insides. He had assumed, when he had passed the other bedrooms and seen nobody in them, that the others were already up and working. Mother Nature at the least should have been monitoring the globes and making sure that the Generals' work yesterday was correct.

Jack flew to the center of the room, looking around for any clue as to where they could have gone. Nothing.

"Okay, Jack," he said, closing his eyes and trying to calm his racing heart, "deep breaths. They're fine, it's fine, there's probably nothing wrong. This isn't the first time they've left you home alone, they probably had something important to do."

He opened his eyes and they were immediately drawn to one of the globes. The globe that showed the current weather patterns and overall temperatures of the world didn't look anything like the one next to it, the globe that showed how the world should be.

On the first globe, there was a small splash of bright red in the lower right side of the United States, and as Jack watched, it grew steadily larger and larger. Frowning, he referenced the other globe only to see that the area was supposed to be having a mild winter, snow and all.

A knot started twisting itself in the pit of his stomach. This was so not good. Something was disrupting the balance of nature and the Generals and Mother Nature was missing. Jack was in way over his head. Smothering down the flare of panic fluttering in his stomach, he pushed off from the ground and let the wind speed him down the North Tunnel.

He couldn't handle this alone, but luckily, he had other people-er, spirits- he knew he could count on.

… oO()Oo …

What normally would have been a long flight spent playing in the air and having fun turned out to be frantic and short. Jack had no time for goofing off, something he never thought would happen. When the Pole finally came into view, Jack put on an extra burst of speed and headed straight for the first open window he could see.

Coincidentally, it was North's private workshop he landed in, bringing with him a blast of cold air and a flurry of snowflakes. The Cossack himself was sitting in his chair, staring wide-eyed at Jack.

"Jack!" he exclaimed, bringing one of his huge hands to his chest. "Do not do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry, North," Jack said, heading for the door, "but we have an emergency and I need to summon the rest of the Guardians." North's face went from surprised and amused to deadly serious so fast it gave Jack whiplash.

"Vhat is the problem?" he asked, rushing past Jack and out into the hallway. Jack sped out after him and had to fly to keep up with the Cossack.

"I don't know," Jack said, worry seeping into his voice. "I was at the Nature Palace when I woke up-"

"Nature Palace?" North parroted, eyebrows shooting upwards.

"It's where Mom, the Generals and I live," Jack said, waving a hand dismissively. "It's not important. Anyway, no one was there when I woke up and there's something weird going on in the United States."

"Vhat kind of veird?" North asked, throwing open the door to the Globe Room and striding over to the switch that turned on the Aurora Borealis.

"It's getting hot," Jack said. "Really, really hot, which is bad because it's supposed to be snowing in that area."

North turned back to Jack. "So, Earth Qveen is missing and Earth is heating up. Could this be Elliot's doing?"

Jack's eyes widened. "Mom was looking for Elliot the last time I saw her. But Elliot isn't powerful enough to take down Mother Nature all on his own. And if the other Generals noticed what I noticed and went to look for her, there's no way Elliot should have been able to take on all four of them together."

North nodded, thinking. "Ve'll vait for the other Guardians to arrive, then ve'll decide vhat to do."

"Thanks, North," Jack said, relieved. He sank to the floor, leaning his hand against the wall. He felt his eyes start to sting and blinked them rapidly. He wouldn't cry, not right now, now matter how terrified he was that he would never see his family again. Instead, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

He could hear North moving around the room, and he vaguely wondered how long it took the other Guardians react to the Northern Lights. Counting the seconds as they ticked by didn't make them go faster, so Jack settled for trying to remember the words to a lullaby Mother Nature used to sing to him when he wasn't even a hundred years old yet.

He smiled a little once he remembered, and sang quietly under his breath.

 _Sleep, little winter child_

 _Don't you fret_

 _For you are not alone in this this world_

 _Don't you forget_

 _That you have me and he and she_

 _And we will never let you be_

 _So when life seems too much for you_

 _Remember that we will help you pull through_

 _Know you're loved as you fly through the sky_

 _Feel the coolness of winter, know you'll never need to cry_

 _For we will always be right here for you, my dear_

 _Just as every snowflake is unique, so are you_

 _And just as love's eternal so is mine for you, it's true_

 _So sleep, little winter child_

 _Don't you fret_

 _For you are not alone in this world_

 _Don't you forget_

 _That I love you more than life itself and that will be true no matter what you do_

He could feel North's gaze on him, but Jack didn't open his eyes. He stayed on the ground, ignoring the restlessness in him that told him to get up and pace, fly, do _something._

It seemed like forever before the other Guardians finally got there, though it couldn't have have been more than ten minutes. Jack was on his feet as soon as Bunny's tunnel opened, and when the Pooka shot out and landed in a crouch above a small purple flower, Jack was already by his side.

"What's the emergency?" Bunny asked urgently.

"We should probably wait for Sandy and Tooth," Jack said. "I don't feel like explaining it more than I have to."

Bunny looked at him suspiciously but sat down on a chair, placing his chin in his hand. North patted him on the back as Jack went back to his spot against the wall. Sandy and Tooth arrived together a few minutes later, ready for battle.

Jack left it up to North to explain that there was no threat that they knew of, and the Guardians all turned to Jack for an explanation.

"Mom and the other Generals are in trouble, I think," he said, worry making him very abrupt and impatient. "Something's wrong in the southeastern United States and I have a feeling that they went to investigate it. But whatever's going on, it was too much for them to handle."

"So, what?" Bunny asked. "Motha Nacha's one of the most powerful spirits in the world, and if she couldn't handle it, what can we do?"

Jack felt a little of his hope die out, and Bunny must have felt it, too, if the way he shot Jack a perplexed glance was anything to go by.

"I don't know," Jack answered honestly. "But I have to do something. They're my family."

The Guardians were silent for less than a second as they thought.

"Of course ve vill help!" North said, grinning down at Jack. Tooth and Sandy nodded enthusiastically, and even Bunny agreed to help.

"So, where exactly are they?" Tooth asked as they piled into the sleigh.

"Arkansas," Jack replied, gripping the side of the sleigh to prevent himself from falling out when the reindeer started to move. "That's the center of the heating phenomenon."

"Then to Arkansas ve go!" North exclaimed as the sleigh shot out of the tunnel and into the open skies. Jack didn't really pay attention to the ride like he might have normally. He was lost in thought, wracking his brains to try and figure out what could be causing the States to heat up so drastically and take down Mother Nature and the Generals, assuming that they actually were in Arkansas.

The only thing Jack could think of that could possibly be behind this was Elliot, but that was impossible. The spirit of fire wasn't nearly powerful enough to defeat Mother Nature. Then again, he had managed to take down Jack pretty easily, and while Jack wasn't as strong as his older siblings or his mother, he was more than capable of holding his own against an elemental.

It was unlikely, but it was the only explanation he had.

"Jack!" North called from the front of the sleigh, breaking him out of his thoughts. "I am going to land the sleigh a few miles avay, is too hot for the reindeer."

Jack looked around and noticed that it was really hot, almost unbearably so. He twitched his staff and the air around him became cold, just how he liked it. The sleigh started to descend, tilting downwards at such an angle that they had to grip the sides tightly to avoid being tossed out of the sleigh by the wind.

The landing was a little bumpy, and they emerged from the thicket of trees that North had landed in a little tousled up.

"Where do we go, now?" Tooth asked, fluttering her wings.

Jack closed his eyes and turned in a small circle. He stopped facing west, and pointed. "That way. I can feel magic coming from that direction."

He took to the air, looking behind him to see Sandy and Tooth right behind him. Bunny and North were running behind, though the Cossack was falling behind a little. Jack focused on the sky in front of him and he sped up, urging the wind to push him faster.

After a few minutes they came across a large field filled with dead, yellow grass. There was a large, dark smudge in the middle of the field, but Jack was too far away to see what it was.

"What is that?" Tooth asked, flying up to hover next to Jack.

"I don't know," the winter sprite answered. "But I'm gonna find out."

Cautious in case it really was Elliot, Jack let himself plummet to the ground and landed lightly on his feet before starting forward. Bunny caught up to him just as he reached the edge of what Jack could only describe as a burn on the Earth's surface. It was about a mile wide and completely charred, no life growing anywhere in the circle.

Jack stopped at the edge, crouching down in the long grass. Bunny sidled up to him, into the cool bubble of air around the winter spirit.

"Jack, look at that," he said, pointing towards the center of the circle. Jack squinted and then his eyes widened when he finally realized what he was looking at. Mother Nature and the other Generals were sitting in the center of the circle, trapped in a giant glass dome. The whole thing was covered in wires and cables that snaked across the ground and connected to a seemingly harmless metal rod stuck into the ground.

Jack looked around and, after seeing no one else around, sped off towards the nature spirits. He landed a few feet away and sprinted to the dome, pressing his hands against it and peering inside. The Generals were all slumped on the ground, pale and breathing shallowly. Mother Nature, too, didn't look good, but she was at least still awake.

"Jack!" she cried, eyes widening. She stumbled over to the side of the dome and lined her hand up with his. "How did you find us?"

"The globe," Jack answered. "This place is supposed to be covered in snow, but the globe showed it to be hot. Mom, what's going on?"

Mother Nature's eyes darkened. "Elliot," she hissed. "It appears that kidnapping you was just a distraction so he could finish _this."_

"What _is_ this?"

Mother Nature gestured to the rod set up a few feet away. "It's a conduit, like your staff. This," she tapped the glass, "harnesses our energy. It's transferred to Elliot via these cables, and he heats it up. It travels to that rod and is released into the air as heat."

"What's he trying to do?" Jack asked, pressing his hand harder against the glass and slowly covering it with a layer of frost.

"I'm not sure, but I think he's heating up the globe," Mother Nature answered, adding her own ice to Jack's. "Accelerating global warming, but I'm not sure when he's going to stop, if he does at all."

"Jack!" A sharp cry from Tooth made Jack whirl around, and he saw the Guardians standing a few yards away, battling with some summer elementals. The Guardians were good, but there were many more spirits than they could handle.

"Jack, go help them," Mother Nature said sternly.

"Can you get out?"

Mother Nature nodded. "I may be weakened, but I can still destroy the glass. I need you to keep Elliot busy, if he shows up."

Jack nodded and shot one more glance at the still forms of his siblings before taking to the sky and flying over to the fight. He landed hard in the middle of the fray, slamming his staff down on the ground. Immediately, ice began covering the ash-covered land, spreading quickly. The elementals jumped back and focused their full attention on him, ignoring the Guardians.

"North, can you and Sandy go help Mom?" he called, dodging a blast of heat from the spirit of the sun. North nodded and he and Sandy raced towards the globe. Tooth and Bunny jumped back into the battle.

Jack focused most of his power on cooling the air, attempting to at least slow down the summer spirits, while using the hand-to-hand combat Bunny had taught him to take down spirit after spirit. He dodged a punch from a particularly tall elemental and jumped back to assess the situation.

Mother Nature and his brother and sisters were still trapped, but the ice had weakened the glass enough that North's and Sandy's attacked was cracking it. He, Bunny and Tooth had taken out at least half of the elementals, and there were unconscious bodies littering the ground.

Jack frowned down at the ground. A light fog had started sweeping over the charred dirt, thickening to the point where Jack couldn't even see his own bare feet anymore. He lifted his legs and flew a few feet off the ground, looking around for the source of the unnatural fog.

No one else seemed bothered by the fog and the battle below him raged on, so his gaze was immediately drawn to the one person in the whole field that was standing still. Jack narrowed his eyes and could just barely make out a familiar silhouette.

John Haze, the traitorous little weasel, was cloaked in thick fog that was slowly turning into black smoke. He had his hands held out in front of him, palms facing downwards. Red clouded Jack's vision and he adjusted his hold on his staff before shooting off towards him. Just before he slammed into John, the spirit turned and smiled at him, an unnerving smirk that clearly said 'I know something you don't'.

A flash of doubt flickered through him, followed immediately by the very real weight of something heavy slamming into him. He slammed into the ground hard and all the breath left his lungs in a painful _oof!_ He curled up protectively around his staff for a second before finally mustering up enough energy to look up at what had hit him.

Smiling down at him, looking for all the world like they had just won every lottery in the world, were John and-

"Elliot."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Eight**

"Hello, Jack," Elliot sneered at the winter spirit at his feet. Jack quickly waved his staff, letting the wind carry him away from the two spirits and into the air. His bruising back and empty lungs protested, but there was no way he was going to sit there like he had submitted to them.

"What's up, Elliot?" Jack shot back flippantly.

"Oh, not much," Elliot said, shrugging. A small fire erupted below him and he shot into the air in front of Jack, flames shooting out into the air from the bottoms of his feet. "Just trying to save the world and all that jazz."

Jack scoffed. "Save the world? More like kill it. If this," he pointed down at the black scar below them, "is your idea of 'saving the world' then I'm afraid you've mixed up the definitions of 'save' and 'destroy'."

Elliot's face darkened. "Better hot than cold," he spat. "I'm trying to prevent _you_ from pulling another stunt like the Ice Age."

Jack's confusion spiked but he didn't acknowledge the comment. "What is all this for?" he asked instead, keeping his tone light and gesturing down to the cables and the rod sticking out of the ground.

"It's a conduit, you twit," Elliot hissed. "It's gonna help me heat up the planet, make it a more suitable place for life to flourish."

"Um," Jack said, purposefully not letting his eyes wander over to where Mother Nature, still in her dome, was frantically signalling to him, asking for more time, "okay? That sounds fake, but okay."

Elliot's face contorted in rage. Without a warning he shot at Jack, fire consuming the outstretched hand he was aiming at him. The winter sprite barely managed to drop in time, still feeling the heat from the fire as it passed over his head. He spun around and shot a blast of ice at Elliot.

The fire spirit, back still turned from his attack, shouted in pain as the ice connecting with his back, melting on contact and sending up a small wisp of steam. He roared in fury and flew at Jack again, too fast for the spirit to dodge.

Jack felt the heat first, then the solid weight that was Elliot. He flew backwards through the air, but Elliot wasn't done. Jack had barely righted himself before a strong kick connected with his abdomen, sending him sprawling into the sky.

Miraculously, he still had his fist around his staff. Almost doubled over from the pain of Elliot's foot, he waved his staff and the air around him dropped in temperature dramatically. When Elliot next charged at him, he ran into a wall of pure cold, causing him to yelp in pain and backpedal furiously.

Steam billowed off of him in angry white waves, and he glared at Jack. The winter sprite was finally able to straighten out, and he glared back at Elliot with the same intensity. The battle still raged below them, though several yards to their left.

Jack raked his eyes over the commotion quickly. North, Sandy and Mother Nature were still trying to break down the thick glass but it didn't look like the spirit of Earth could produce ice fast enough. Tooth and Bunny were holding their own against the elementals, but just barely.

Jack turned his attention back to Elliot. The spirit was breathing hard though there wasn't anymore steam coming off of him. Suddenly, Elliot dropped like a stone. Startled, Jack followed him, albeit warily.

Elliot landed heavily on the ground and smirked up at Jack.

"Now!" he shouted. Jack didn't have any time to ponder what he was doing before a thick column of smoke engulfed him. Jack looked around wildly, eyes streaming as the smoke got in them. Aware of what a sitting duck he was, he flew down-or at least, what he thought was down. It was near impossible to tell.

After a few moments of flying blindly, Jack realized what Elliot was trying to do. He wasn't going to attack, like Jack thought he was. No, the winter sprite was pretty sure he was trying to suffocate him. The scariest part? It was working.

Jack coughed violently, desperately trying to inhale air that wasn't there. In a last ditch effort, he raised his staff and called the wind. Like he had expected, he was swept away with the smoke, but at least he could breathe again.

Still hacking up one of his lungs, he looked around through watery eyes for any sign of Elliot or John. He gave one final cough and rubbed his eyes, glaring down at the soot that covered most of his body.

"Jack!"

Jack looked around and finally spotted Tooth. The Guardian was streaking towards him as fast as her wings would carry her, and Jack frowned when he noticed how far away he was from the main battle.

"Jack, Mother Nature and the others have escaped, but all of the elementals are going after them," Tooth said worriedly. "North, Sandy and Bunny are doing their best, but they can't hold off all of them for long. No matter how many we knock out, more wake up and come at us."

Jack looked past her and saw that she was right. He could barely make out the forms of his mother and siblings, but there was no mistaking the giant red blob that was North or the walking inferno that Elliot had become.

"Okay," he said, looking back down at Tooth," c'mon."

The two of them sped back to the battle. Jack flew down and hovered in front of Mother Nature, careful not to cut himself on the frosted broken glass littering the ground. A glance to his side showed him that Sunny, Ash and Lila were up and fighting, but incredibly weak. They were barely standing as they fought, and Jack was incredibly glad that Sandy and Bunny were right next to them.

"Mom, where's Elliot?" Jack asked, raising his staff and causing huge spikes of ice to erupt from the ground, forcing the elementals away from them.

"He's connecting himself to the conduit," Mother Nature informed him. "Jack, you have to stop him. If he manages to use the energy he drained from us…"

She didn't have to finish her sentence. Jack nodded once and shot into the air, glancing down briefly to make sure that no one needed his help before shooting off to where he could see Elliot attaching small wires all over his skin.

Lips curled into a snarl, Jack formed a large spear of ice and hurled it as hard as he could. The air around Elliot was so hot that the ice half-melted before it could even touch him, but it was still solid enough that it hit its target.

The ice shattered upon impact and Elliot stumbled forwards a few steps. He whipped around with a snarl and his eyes instantly landed on Jack. The winter sprite wasted no time. Before Elliot could react, he rocketed to the large metal rod sticking out of the ground. He released all of his power as he flew, freezing the air around him so much that when he got close enough to the conduit, a thin cover of ice instantly formed over the metal.

Elliot roared in rage, shooting towards Jack, but something huge and golden slammed into him just before he could make contact with Jack. The winter sprite looked to his left and saw Sandy giving him a salute and a sly smile.

"Thanks, Sandy!" Jack called before turning his attention back to the conduit. Tuning out the sounds of warring spirits all around him, he focused his attention on the task in front of him, sparing only a second to make sure that Elliot was still being held down by Sandy's Dreamsand. Then he took a deep breath and let it out slow, along with a blast of cold that he released into the air. He placed both of his hands on the thick rod and gritted his teeth.

Slowly but steadily, ice started forming around his hands, creeping along the metal in thicker and thicker waves. He kept going, ignoring the threats Elliot was throwing at him and the shouts of elementals still getting their asses handed to them by the Guardians, until the whole pole was covered in a thick layer of ice.

He didn't stop there, though. Any summer spirit could melt ice; he needed to ensure that this thing was unsalvageable. He took another deep breath and gripped his staff tighter, moving it a fraction of an inch and making the air temperature drop even more, until frost started forming on the ground. He grabbed his staff with both hands and brought it up and back, poised like a baseball bat.

"I am so going to regret this," he mumbled, and swung his staff as hard as he could. Just as he had predicted, the rod shattered and the staff broke cleanly in half. A scream tore itself out of his throat and he dropped to his knees. All activity on the battlefield stopped as everyone turned to stare at him.

Elliot was the first to move. He screamed in fury and ripped himself free of the Dreamsand. He attacked while Jack was down, fire engulfing his whole body as he flew towards the winter sprite. Everything fell into chaos after that.

Ash, Sunny and Lila, moving with a speed Jack hadn't known they possessed, tackled Elliot in midair and pinned the thrashing spirit to the ground. All of the other elementals panicked when their leader fell, fleeing left and right, nearly trampling each other in their haste to get away. The Guardians tried to capture some of them, but all of them slipped out of their grasps.

Mother Nature, calm as ever, strode over to Jack with large steps. She kneeled down by him and wrapped him up in a huge hug.

"Thank you," she sighed. She placed a kiss on his forehead and smiled.

"No problem," Jack mumbled. "That guy needed to be taken down a few pegs anyway."

"Jack, are you alright?"

Jack looked over his shoulder to see the other four Guardians looking at him worriedly. It was Tooth who had spoken, and she was holding the two halves of his staff gingerly, as if afraid of damaging them more.

"I'm fine, Tooth," Jack said, reaching out and taking hold of the two pieces of his conduit. He put the two broken ends together and closed his eyes, reaching deep inside himself for whatever he had used to do this last time.

He didn't open his eyes until he saw a flash that turned the insides of his eyelids red for a moment.

"Wow, Jack," came a voice from behind him, "that was some pretty heavy-duty stuff you did."

Jack turned and grinned when he saw an unconscious Elliot being supported by Ash and Sunny. Lila, smirked at him, wiping blood from her knuckles onto the front of her shirt.

"Not really," Jack said, shrugging. "I've done it before."

"Not that," Sunny said. She let go of Elliot's arm and let him drop halfway. Ash glanced down at him before shrugging and releasing the grip he had on Elliot, letting the fire spirit crumple to the ground in an undignified heap. "She meant taking on Elliot by yourself."

"Yeah, tha' was some impressive stuff, Frostbite," Bunny said, coming up behind Jack. The winter sprite smiled.

"Thanks, Bunny," he said. He looked down at Elliot and nudged him with the end of his staff. "So, what are we going to do with him?"

Mother Nature's eyes darkened. "I'm going to lock him up in the dungeon until he's learned his lesson or until I see fit."

Jack gaped at her, a single eyebrow raised. "Wait, hold on. We have a dungeon?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Epilogue**

"We have a dungeon," Jack said, not looking up from the snowball he was making. Sandy paused in the doorway and turned to look at him, flashing a question mark above his head. "It's in the Nature Palace, and you can only access it if you're a seasonal or Mother Nature."

Sandy floated over to him and a small sand fire started prancing around his head, along with another question mark. Jack nodded.

"Yeah, that's where we stashed Elliot," he said. "And with how angry Mother Nature and the other Generals are, I don't think he's getting out anytime soon." Jack scooped up a handful of snow and started on another snowball.

Sandy created a picture of the fire that symbolized Elliot behind bars, then a small, thin cloud and another question mark.

"Nope," Jack said, scooping up the two snowballs in one hand and his staff in the other. "We haven't found John anywhere, but wherever he is, he's doing his job, at least. Mom doesn't think we'll have anymore trouble from him, but Lila still wants to pound his face in."

Sandy laughed silently and nodded, pointing to himself.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that everyone wants to punch him," Jack said. He floated up into the air and Sandy made a small hot air balloon and followed, frowning questioningly. "These," Jack said, holding up the snowballs, "are a present for Bunny. Call it payback."

Sandy tilted his head and Jack felt the need to explain.

"Ever since finding out about me being a Nature General," he said, "Bunny's been calling me General Jack and saluting every time I walk past. I don't care, honestly, the elementals do the same thing, but Bunny thinks it bothers me, and I _do_ have a reputation to uphold."

Sandy clapped gleefully and waved his hand, producing a handful of Dreamsand. Jack laughed and clapped him on the back.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," he said, repeating something he had said to the Sandman only a few short months ago. Sandy gave him an evil grin that widened with glee when Bunnymund walked through the door.

The two Guardians drew their arms back, aiming. Jack released his snowballs first and they sailed through the air before hitting Bunny right between the eyes, one right after the other. Bunny froze and looked up, only to get hit with a faceful of Dreamsand before he could say anything. The Pooka crumpled instantly, face still a mask of anger.

Jack threw his head back and laughed, clutching his stomach with one hand and wiping at his eyes with the other. He flew down to the ground and Sandy followed a few seconds later.

"I don't think he'll call me 'General' any time soon," Jack snickered. Sandy grinned in agreement and the two of them, still wracked with the occasional giggle, left.


End file.
